I recently realised that Facts About Durban has been going for 14 years (it feels more like a lifetime) and I had a happy morning trawling through the older parts of the site. There was no WordPress in those days … Read More
By Tim Gallwey – August 2017 An integral part of the old Durban scene were the lavender coloured mail ships of Union-Castle. They would leave Southampton at 4 pm every Thursday and, if my memory is correct, they would … Read More
I have posted Udo Richard Averweg’s article on the relief of The Old Fort which had been besieged by Boers. He wrote: Saturday 24th June 2017 marked the 175th anniversary of the arrival of the schooner Conch … Read More
I have just uploaded the story of The Battle of Congella which was contributed by Udo Richard Averweg. I’ve created a page for Udo and you can download the story in PDF format from there. I will soon be … Read More
I have just put up a contribution from Peter Grindley-Ferris who looks back on his days in Durban at school and as a young man. It’s a longish read that you can really get your teeth into and will certainly … Read More
Most Durbanites are familiar with the Da Gama Clock which has stood on Victoria Embankment for many years. It has been in a sorry state for many years and was extensively vandalised but the city, thankfully, is now doing … Read More
I have just received a scan of a very interesting airmail postcard which was sent in by Derk van Groningen who acquired it during a trip to Zimbabwe. It is dated 5 March 1925 and there was an experimental airmail service between Durban … Read More
As part of the research for the book Facts About Durban I collected details on a number of ships which were named after Durban and I posted them on the site here. A little while later I not only discovered that HMS … Read More
Horace Dainty was one of FAD’s original informants who passed away back in 2006. Horace was born in Durban and had a radio business in Broad Street at the start of WWII. He was also the Mayor of Pinetown for a … Read More
Something rather different this time and though not strictly “Facts” about Durban it does relate to life in Durban a startling 75 years ago. It is often spoken about that Durban at one time in its history was one of … Read More